Our North America editor
The US Delfin floating LNG export project offshore Louisiana is making some progress with regulators assessing the scope of the environmental review, including the onshore pipeline portion of the venture.
Delfin is a proposed deepwater port and floating LNG facility that will be located about 50 miles off the coastline of Cameron Parish, Louisiana.
Deepwater port
The company has applied to the United States Maritime Administration (MARAD) and the US Coast Guard for authorization to construct and operate a deepwater port capable of exporting 443.3 billion standard cubic feet of natural gas, equivalent to 9 million tonnes per annum of LNG.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is also involved because of the onshore pipeline permit process.
Delfin proposes to activate the formerly abandoned U-T offshore system pipeline and construct new connecting pipelines, a compressor station and associated facilities.
Delfin told the FDERC that the majority of the onshore facilities would be within the Cameron Meadows Gas Plant and adjacent Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line (Transco) Station 44 in Cameron Parish.
The LNG export plant developers have also signed a joint development agreements with European project specialist Hoegh LNG of Norway and US pipeline company Enbridge in relation to the project.
Engineering company Bechtel was selected to perform front-end engineering and design for the venture.
Delfin LNG is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fairwood Peninsula Energy Corp.
While MARAD and the FERC are involved, the Coast Guard is the lead federal agency preparing the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the overall Delfin LNG Deepwater Port Project.
It has also been noted by Delfin that because the US Gulf of Mexico is prone to hurricanes almost every year, the developers will be able to disconnect the LNG hull from the port facility and move to protected waters during a hurricane.
"When a draft EIS is complete and ready for public review, the Maritime Administration will publish a Notice of Availability in the Federal Register to provide for a public comment period that includes public meetings in Louisiana and Texas," the FERC said.
"FERC, as a cooperating agency will play an important role in developing the environmental analysis for the FERC-jurisdictional (onshore) facilities in the EIS.
"Thus, FERC staff will work with Coast Guard staff and contractors to ensure that the onshore facilities are thoroughly evaluated and that all scoping comments received as a result of this notice are addressed in the EIS," the regulator stated.
